Best Schooling Fish for Planted Tanks - Page 15 - Fish for the Planted Aquarium

Goat · 05-19-2008, 08:41 AM

I'm new to the planted world but I chose to go with red-eyed/lamp-eyed tetras.
I have 20 in my tank and they school and shoal forever, they cover the top of the tank really well. I think my favorite thing is that they are just silver and black so don't distract you much from the plants. They shimmer and shine when they turn around. Very similar to lemon tetras also.

I really like congo tetras also, but they do get quite large in comparison.

fastang80 · 06-01-2008, 03:59 PM

In my opinion Rummy nose tetras are the best schooling fish for the fact they hardly get away from each other. Cardinals, and Rasboras look great in a planted tank too.

jackh · 08-10-2008, 10:49 PM

i have 9 harlequin rasboras in a 20g. they school pretty nicely imo

i just set up a new tank (sig). its a 13x13 in cube thats 21 in tall. not all that much horizontal swimming space but plenty of vertical lol. i need a small group of schoolers for it. likin the idea of the lemon tetras, i think their color will be a nice contrast with all the bright green that will be in there.

im also lookin into some glass catfish, theyre just so unusual that i think theyd be kinda cool to have.

do both of these fish need more room to swim than what i have? if so, any better ideas?

cs_gardener · 08-11-2008, 11:57 AM

Lemon tetra are rather big for a 13x13 footprint and I think they'd look cramped even though they tend to like hanging out and don't swim around a whole lot.

I think you'd be happier with a dwarf fish, like a micro rasbora, because they wouldn't look cramped as they were swimming around.

jackh · 08-11-2008, 01:53 PM

ya i hadnt realized lemon tetras got that big.

did some more research,think im gonna go with boraras brigittae

cs_gardener · 08-11-2008, 02:22 PM

The boraras are going to look great against all the green you have planned and should suit the tank size well. I think they school better than the tetras too.

will5 · 08-11-2008, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fastang80

In my opinion Rummy nose tetras are the best schooling fish for the fact they hardly get away from each other. Cardinals, and Rasboras look great in a planted tank too.

I have heard that rummy nose tetras are great schoolers btu I have never had them so until I do I will always recommend Brilliant Rasbora aka Blackline rasbora.

Here are a couple of links on them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasbora_borapetensis

This link has a bad pic of one but does offer some info on them. http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...y.php?id=10834

When I first bought them I got five but one died. The four I had left hid all day and did not eat a thing for two weeks until I tried live bbs. They still hid all day but at least they started eating. They began comming out from hidding more often but still ran for cover at the slightest movement. I bought two more and now the wait for me at the side of the tank to feed them. I manged to get them eatting flake and pellet about a week after I started feeding the live bbs.

These guys are almost always schooling together and when they are not the forum small groups which will all make a run for each other if you walk up to the tank too fast. I forgot to metion that I have one female that is always fat with eggs and the males follow her vibrating against her. All though I have never seen any fry and or eggs.

I bought these fish on a whim and now the are my favorite fish. They are well worth the trouble they put up any the beginning.

4f1hmi · 08-24-2008, 09:31 PM

I like cardinals and rummynose tetras but have you seen the lamp eye yetras school in low light. Looks like small floating flashlights.

overboard · 08-26-2008, 07:26 PM

Anyone have black rasboras? I just saw them at a LFS and they were beautiful- like harlequin resboras, but the black triangle covered most of their body, and their head was red. No yellow at all. They were expensive for a schooling fish, $3.99 each. This store usually Id's things properly, but uses the words "tetra" and "rasbora" interchangeably sometimes. What were these?

subundaortus · 08-30-2008, 07:36 PM

I prefer the Pristella Tetras, Lemon tetra's, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, and even Serpae Tetras. I either have or have had each of these at one time or another over the years. The Pristella's are my current favorite.